Semantics for Latin

An Introduction

A. M. Devine and Laurence D. Stephens

The first work to apply the discipline of Formal Semantics to the study of Latin grammatical meaning

Semantics for Latin

An Introduction

A. M. Devine and Laurence D. Stephens

Description

The advent of the new discipline of Formal Semantics around forty years ago has resulted in a vast expansion in our knowledge and theoretical understanding of grammatical meaning. Semantics for Latin collects together this new material, applies it to Latin, and makes the results accessible to a Classical audience. The issues confronted by Formal Semantics are mostly those that comprise the core subject matter of Latin grammar. Formal Semantics, however, is not just a new way of doing an old subject: the richness and explanatory depth of its analyses, together with their striking elegance and precision, go far beyond anything that was achieved by the rather vague notional semantics used in our classroom textbooks and in the standard German reference grammars. Thus, apart from its intrinsic interest, the material in this book will be of real practical value to students and teachers of Latin and, more generally, to scholars engaged in any discussion of Latin textual meaning.

A. M. Devine and Laurence D. Stephens

Table of Contents

Semantics for Latin

An Introduction

A. M. Devine and Laurence D. Stephens

Author Information

A. M. Devine (Professor of Classics, Stanford University) and Laurence D. Stephens (Adjunct Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) have collaborated on research in Latin and Greek linguistics for many years. They have written numerous articles and books on topics ranging from metrics and prosody to syntax and semantics.

Semantics for Latin

An Introduction

A. M. Devine and Laurence D. Stephens

Reviews and Awards

"This is an exciting book -- ambitious, penetrating, and a watershed in the description of Latin."--D. M. Goldstein, Bryn Mawr Classical Review